Andrei Kuzmenko is dealing with devastating personal loss as he prepares for his fifth NHL season.
According to a report from Russian news outlet Ren.tv, Alexander Kuzmenko, the father of the Pittsburgh Penguins forward, was killed while visiting the Tuva Republic in southern Siberia. The report said Kuzmenko was bitten in the head by a bear that suddenly came out of the forest and suffered “severe facial injuries, including extensive tissue damage.”
Doctors were unable to save him. He was 62 years old.
Alexander Kuzmenko was known as a hockey coach and had worked with KHL players Nikita Korostelev and Daniil Grigoryev, among others. He was reportedly on a fishing trip in the area when the attack happened.
Ren.tv reported that a ban had been put in place along the Bolshoy Yenisey River just days earlier after growing reports of bears moving toward the forested area. The outlet also said 2026 has been a record year for bear attacks on humans in Russia, with at least 15 deaths in surrounding areas. Experts blamed the surge on “poor harvest of berries and pine nuts in the taiga: without their usual food before hibernation, the animals migrate en masse to populated areas, landfills, summer cottages, and farms in search of food.”
Kuzmenko’s NHL path has taken him through several stops since arriving in North America. After time in the KHL with CSKA Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg, he joined the NHL in 2022 with the Vancouver Canucks. He later spent two seasons with the Calgary Flames, had a short stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, and then got his career back on track with the Los Angeles Kings.
On July 1, 2026, Kuzmenko signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Penguins.
In 271 regular-season games, he has produced 182 points, with 85 goals and 97 assists. He also has six points, split between three goals and three assists, in seven playoff games with the Kings.
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